Craving Kara

  The Aces’ Sons

  By Nicole Jacquelyn

  Craving Kara

  Copyright © ©2021 by Nicole Jacquelyn

  Kindle Edition

  All Rights Reserved

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  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Dedication

  To Biz and Danielle,

  My cousins and very first best friends.

  I don’t know how I would’ve ever done

  this life without you.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  Prologue

  Draco

  I cracked my knuckles—the only show of nerves that I allowed myself anymore—as I watched the door across the room. It had been a month since I’d seen Kara and I didn’t want to miss a second of being in her presence. I felt starved for her. It was pathetic, really, the way I used her visits to keep me going. It was also supremely fucking unfair to her, which was why I never let on how important her visits were. She was young, and since I’d been inside, the small age gap between us seemed to have widened exponentially. She was still going to school, getting yelled at by her parents, and figuring out where to send her college applications, while I… well, I spent the morning carrying around a contraband joint for a guy called Mutt because we’d heard that his cell was going to get tossed—and I owed him.

  It was a whole different world inside, and I was trying to figure out the best way to navigate it. Sometimes, I felt like forgetting home was better. I’d spend the entire day refusing to think about life on the outside—our house, what my parents were doing, if Curt had completely trashed the media room now that I wasn’t there to tell him to clean up his mess—but always, by the time I laid my head down at night, I’d put myself into a panic, forcing myself into remembering every miniscule thing I could, terrified that I’d forget what real life was like.

  My pop had told me to keep my head down and do my time. The club had set up protection for me inside, which was a relief, but that protection didn’t come without strings. Mutt was the main watchdog, which worked out pretty good for me because I actually liked the guy. He reminded me of my Uncle Grease a little. But there were others, too, men who made it known that they’d step in if anyone fucked with me. The consequence of being protected so I didn’t get raped or stabbed in the shower? I had to run errands, pass messages, hold shit that could get me into serious trouble, and occasionally be a rat. It was a more than fair trade, but it still fucking sucked.

  I hated it. I hated the way everything smelled. I hated being surrounded by men who would as easily stab me in the throat as look at me, I hated the isolation and my cell. I hated the food. I hated the fact that I couldn’t go outside until my designated yard time. I hated the boredom and the tedium and the motherfucking fluorescent lighting that had started giving me migraines.

  But what I hated most of all and could never tell anyone was the fact that I felt like I had a bullseye painted on my back and I was scared all the goddamn time. Wanted-my-fucking-mommy terrified. I’d had to teach myself to freeze instead of flinch anytime someone surprised me. Weakness, no matter how protected I was, could get me killed. I barely slept.

  I held my breath as the door opened and the visitors filed in. My eyebrows rose in surprise as Charlie and Curt came walking through the door with my mom. The group always had to have an adult with them when they visited, which seemed incredibly ironic since Curt was my twin and I fucking lived in the prison—but whatever. Where was Kara?

  “Hey!” Charlie said, dropping onto the bench across from me. “How you doin’? You okay?”

  “Brother, dear,” Curtis said dryly, shooting Charlie a chill look.

  “Hey, baby,” my mom said as she sat down last, her jaw tight. She took great pains to hide how much she hated that I was in there, but it was impossible for her to mask every expression. Her loathing for the guards that barked out orders any time she got too close to me was a palpable thing. If she could’ve carried a weapon inside the prison, I had a feeling she would’ve done something stupid.

  I waited for a minute for them to tell me where she was, but finally spoke when no one else did.

  “Not that I’m not happy to see ya,” I said to the small group. I cleared my throat. “But I thought Kara was comin’?”

  Jesus, it felt pathetic to even ask. I hated that, too.

  “She called last night and told me she couldn’t make it today,” my mom said with a small shrug. “So, I let Charlie know, since it was her turn next.”

  “Why?” I asked, looking at Charlie. “She okay?”

  “As far as I know,” Charlie replied, nodding her head. “Maybe she just had family shit or something. I don’t know. I haven’t talked to her.”

  “You should make sure everything’s okay,” I said, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them. I couldn’t believe that Kara had missed a visit unless something was wrong.

  I knew what they saw when they looked at me. I knew that they could see right through the nonchalance and the cool expression. They saw the way I was desperate to see Kara, the way I worried about her and pined for her and couldn’t seem to focus on anything but her. I couldn’t imagine any reason that she would cancel a visit unless there was an emergency, but by the looks on my family’s faces, they didn’t see it the same way.

  “She’s fine,” Curt said dryly. “But my baby isn’t. Someone slashed poor Roxanne’s tires.” Roxanne was his fully restored Chevelle. I rolled my eyes, but followed along with his change of subject.

  “You know who it was?” I asked, leaning forward on my elbows. We’d faced a lot of backlash since the day I’d beat the hell out of one of our classmates, but I’d hoped that me being inside would take some of the heat off my brother. I was already being punished, they didn’t need to give him shit, too.

  “Coulda been Caleb Carson,” Curt said, rolling his lips inside his teeth in an effort to hold back his smile. “Actually, I’m pretty sure it was.”

  “Yeah, because you were parked outside his girlfriend’s house while her parents were out of town,” Charlie said in disgust.

  “She was helpin’ me study,” Curt said to me, straight faced. “She’s real smart.”

  I knew Caleb’s girlfriend, April. Sweet, pretty, and fun described her. Smart did not. I snorted.

  “You know,” my mom said, rolling her eyes, “it’s gonna be real nice when you two are old enough to visit without me. I love bein’ here, but it goes against nature for me to hear this shit.”

  All of us paused for a moment, the reality of the situation dropping like a bomb in the middle of the room. Eventually, Curt and Charlie would be legal adults and able to visit me by themselves—and I’d still be in here.

  Not for the first time, my mind circled around whether or not what I’d done was worth it. Inevitably, the look on Kara’s face when she saw the video someone had taken of her half naked and vulnerable flashed through my memories. That memory always popped up when I was feeling sorry for myself and I always came to the same conclusion. If I could go back, I’d still beat the shit out of the asshole who’d taken that video—I just wouldn’t have done it with so many witnesses.

  Chapter 1

  Kara

  Four years later

  “You want a bean?” I asked, leaning out of the window toward the large truck and the chubby old man inside.

  “You know it, darlin’,” he replied, grinning.

  I gave him two, just because.

  “Here you go,” I said, handing over his coffee, the two little coffee beans rolling around on top. “Gimme one sec and I’ll get your bride’s.”

  “Thanks, honey,” his wife called from the passenger seat. I couldn’t see her face unless she ducked down, but
I could picture her perfectly. She wore her hair in a long gray waterfall down her back, the top half pulled back and held with a barrette, and her eyes were permanently crinkled at the corners from laughter.

  Bill and Hazel were two of my best regulars. I loved them, probably because they reminded me of my grandparents who I didn’t see often enough.

  As I placed the lid on Hazel’s coffee, I cleared my throat and glanced at the clock. Only two more hours until I closed up the little coffee cart, but it felt like I still had two weeks to go.

  “Here you go,” I said, not bothering to add beans to Hazel’s half-sweet mocha, since she thought they tasted like the bottom of a shoe.

  “Don’t tell anyone,” Bill said as he took the coffee carefully from my hand, “but you’re my favorite.”

  “You really are,” Hazel said, ducking down to meet my gaze. “He always watches to see if your Jeep is out front!”

  “Well,” I replied, glancing sneakily from side to side before I continued, “you’re my favorite, too.”

  Bill hooted, and put his hand dreamily over his heart, making me laugh.

  “Now get outta here,” I said, glancing toward the sky.

  “You should be leavin’, too,” Bill said as he started up his truck. He had to practically yell over the sound of the diesel engine. “Can’t be good for you to be workin’ in this.”

  “I’ll be alright,” I assured him. “I’m almost done here and then headed home.”

  “You be safe,” Hazel yelled.

  “You, too,” I replied.

  I cleared my throat again as they pulled away from the window and suppressed a cough as I leaned toward the truck that had taken their spot.

  “Hey, how’s it going?” I said automatically.

  “Better now,” Draco replied.

  I huffed and gave him a half smile, trying to hide how flustered I was. I’d known Draco for most of my life and we had a more dramatic history than most couples that had been married for fifty years, but things were beyond weird between us now. I tried to keep an eye out for him and I usually had a second to brace myself before he got to the window, but I’d been too distracted this time.

  “You want the usual?” I asked, glancing behind him at the line of cars.

  “Please,” he confirmed, grinning. God. It should be against the laws of nature to be that good looking.

  “I don’t know why you come through here to get plain black coffee,” I replied as I stepped back and got his drink ready. “You could make this at home.”

  “I could,” he said easily as I handed him the plain drip coffee.

  I waved him off as he tried to hand me money. Charlie and I never let our people pay. We told them it was the perk of knowing the barista. Truthfully, we just took it out of our tips at the end of each shift. We considered it an even trade since we got visits while we were working. Plus, they usually tipped really well even though they weren’t paying, so they ended up paying anyhow.

  So, when Draco leaned further out the truck window and stuffed a twenty into the tip jar, I wasn’t surprised.

  I sighed dramatically, not bothering to argue. He wasn’t going to take that twenty back, even though it was way too much. “Thank you.”

  He sat there, looking at me as he took a sip of his coffee. “Way better than I could make at home,” he said quietly. “You out of here soon?”

  “Not too much longer,” I replied, even though I had hours left.

  “Good,” he said, still holding eye contact. “It’s getting nasty out here.”

  “I’ll be alright.”

  “Let me know if you need anything.”

  I nodded and swallowed hard. We both knew the world would have to be ending before I asked him for help…probably not even then.

  “See you later, sweetheart.”

  I nodded and gave an awkward wave as he put the truck into gear and pulled away. As soon as he was far enough away not to see me, I took a step back into the little trailer and shook out my hands and smoothed back my hair. It didn’t matter how many times he showed up for coffee, it left me frazzled every time.

  I cleared my throat and forced myself to lean toward the little window again and smiled, “Hey, what can I get ya?”

  For the next hour, I kept a smile on my face as my eyes watered and the air grew even more difficult to deal with. By the time my boss showed up with her husband and turned the neon Open sign off, I was so congested, I sounded like a honking goose when I spoke.

  “You head out,” she said, rubbing my back briskly as she passed me in the small space. “We’re gonna tow the whole cart outta here for now. Stash it somewhere I don’t have to worry about it.”

  “Text me later?” I said, not bothering to ask any questions as I pulled off my apron.

  “I’ll send out a group text in a couple hours,” Mallory replied, nodding as she quickly secured the supplies on the counters and in the sinks. “Go home.” She raised her head to look at me. “Check in, alright? Let me know how you guys are doing.”

  “I will,” I agreed as I turned toward the door with a wave. Less than a minute later, I was driving home. I probably should’ve offered to stay and help Mallory pack up, but I knew I’d just be in the way. Plus, I couldn’t wait to take a shower. I smelled like an ashtray.

  By the time I got to my front door, every thought of a shower had gone out the window and I felt like I was walking through mud. Damn, I was tired. After barely getting any sleep the night before and my four am shift at the coffee cart, I was beat. Thank God Mallory closed the cart early. I wasn’t sure how I would’ve made it to the end of my shift.

  “Honey, I’m home,” I called out, opening the front door and tossing my purse onto the couch. “Are you?”

  “Yep,” my roommate and best friend replied, popping up from behind the kitchen counter. I yelped in surprise.

  “Jesus, were you hiding?” I asked, kicking off my shoes.

  “No, I was looking for that cheese grater I borrowed from my mother so I can return it.”

  “She’s probably bought a new one by now,” I said, walking past her toward my bedroom.

  “Yeah, I know,” Charlie replied, following me. “But if I go over there without it, she’ll bug me about it the whole time.”

  “Probably,” I agreed, pulling my phone out to check it for the tenth time that day. The news was saying that the wild fire in our area was getting closer. Zero containment were their exact words. Unpredictable winds. “Mallory closed up the shop,” I told Charlie as I sat on the edge of the bed. “She was having it towed somewhere out of the danger zone.”

  “Sweet,” Charlie replied. We both worked at the shop, but we rarely had the same shift—which, if I was being honest, was probably a good thing. We spent enough time together as it was.

  “Sweet until it’s time to pay rent,” I replied, making a face.

  “We’ll be fine. We always are. They’re saying to stay inside because the air is so bad,” Charlie said, leaning against the doorframe. “Which means you should’ve gotten hazard pay for this morning. You smell like a campfire. Are you gonna go to your parents’ to wait this shit out?”

  “Yeah, right,” I replied with a scoff. “I’m not getting stuck there. The boys would probably shave half of my head or something while I slept.”

  “You just stayed the night a couple of months ago,” she pointed out dryly.

  “That was then, this is now,” I said, dropping onto my bed. “Are you going to stay with your parents?”

  “Well, I was going to—that’s why I was trying to find the cheese grater,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “But I don’t want to leave you here by yourself. That sucks.”

  I laughed. “I can stay at our apartment by myself.”

  “Yeah, right,” she replied stubbornly.

  “It’s no big deal. I’ll go to my parents’ house if shit gets crazy.”

  “As if this isn’t crazy enough?” Charlie grunted in annoyance. “Why don’t you stay at my parents’ house with me? It’ll be like old times.”

  A dozen snapshots ran through my mind—memories of the times I’d stayed the night at her house growing up and the person I was then—and I shook my head. I wasn’t feeling like a trip down memory lane.